When I did win the Tour, I felt I was feted more in the U.K. for being an Olympic gold medallist... Then I come back to Europe to race, and they're not interested in the Olympic gold; it's about being the winner of the Tour de France - here he is.

I didn't like doing team presentations at races, being introduced as the winner of the Tour. I felt quite embarrassed by it.

You take for granted that you can walk. You do it every day, and then suddenly you can't walk, and you have to remember, 'How did I get out of this chair and start walking in the first place?'

You think if you win the Olympics, you'll become a millionaire overnight. But I was still scraping the barrel, looking down the back of the settee for pound coins to buy a pint of milk.

Working-class people don't tend to be wooed by celebrity.

You train all year for the physical aspect of cycling, but you can't plan for what comes next. You're still the same person. External perceptions might change, but inside, you're the same.

Usually, the great thing about cycling is that anybody can watch it; it's very accessible.

I've got an opportunity that not many people have - to be the leader of Team Sky as I enter the prime years of my career.

I feel a different person in a lot of ways. I feel much more professional and dedicated to my trade than I used to be. I appreciate this ability I've got - and don't take it for granted any more. That fits every aspect of my life now.

I've become more of a climber now - who still keeps that time trial as strong as ever. It gives me such self-belief. I feel a different athlete.

I'm not just a time triallist any more.

That period afterwards, just hating being the winner of the Tour de France, hating cycling, hating the media for asking me questions about Lance Armstrong.

My dad was a professional track racer. It's in my genes, and my first memories as a baby were in a velodrome.

I feel like I was born to ride the track.

I'd love to win Paris-Roubaix.

You can plan physically to try to win the Tour, but I could never plan for what was going to happen after it.

I began cycling round the Serpentine because it was the only closed route in London where I could ride traffic-free.

Growing up, the news agents round my way in Kilburn all had 'Time Out' on their shopfronts. The logo is a London icon.

The 2012 Olympics is a fantastic incentive for everyone to help leave a sporting legacy and show that Britain is truly a great sporting nation.

I was born in Belgium, but we moved to Kilburn when I was one, so 'Time Out' has always been in the background of my life.

If we went to the Tour, I'd have to think, what would our purpose be? Would it be to win the Tour de France? I'm not sure I want that pressure.

The Tour has changed, and I can't make up my mind if it's changed for the better or worse.

Goals come in bunches. When you're hot, things go in. Then there will be times where you go through a span where you have about 20 games without a goal and it's just how it is.

Sometimes, you go down to Florida and Tampa and you get a couple days off, you can get complacent.